Intricate Hair Vest Chain with Gilt Mounts, Victorian

This is a most interesting hair vest chain which appears to be made from the most intricate crochet made into a woven plait. It is of a very dark brown brunette hair. It has decorative mounts with swivel and T-bar which appear to be gilt metal. The T-bar would have been placed through a buttonhole to secure the chain with the swivel attached to a watch that would be held in a vest or watch pocket or behind a belt. Such chains were worn by both men and women. It was the culture, particularly in Sweden, for a young bride-to-be to make one for her beloved but some of these chains were also made as mourning pieces to commemorate the loss of a loved one. A hair chain such as this can be seen on a lady whose carte de visite is currently listed on this site, and several other hair chains are also listed. The condition of this example is excellent with some slight gilding loss on the mounts. Maximum length 12 ins (30.5cm). Weight 16 grams.
This item appears in my book, “How the Watch was Worn, A Fashion for 500 Years” on page 143. Insured Air Mail Post with tracking to the USA would be $32.00 USD - with no tracking is cheaper. For shipping cost to other countries, please contact us.